Russians want Lenin's remains buried - poll

Moscow, April 21, Interfax - The attitude of Russians toward Lenin has remained the same since the end of the 1990s, with 58% claiming that he played a positive role in Russian history, compared with 19% saying the opposite.

Meanwhile, 46% want Lenin's remains to be removed from the Mausoleum and buried, against 29% are opposed. The first figure has declined 10% in the past two year, while the second is down 1%, a poll conducted in 100 communities of 44 Russian regions by the Public Opinion Foundation showed.

Another poll conducted among 1,600 respondents from 128 communities of 46 Russian regions by the Yury Levada Analytical Center showed similar results: 44% propose burying Lenin in Volkovo cemetery, another 11% are for burying his remains at the foot of the Kremlin wall.

However, 38% of Russians spoke against removing Lenin from the Mausoleum.

A poll last year by the Yury Levada Analytical Center showed the figures of 36%, 15% and 40% respectively.

Seventy-four percent of respondents want the Mausoleum in Red Square preserved as a historic monument even after Lenin is buried, another 8% propose to place the monument somewhere else, with 6% wanting it razed.